We take it for granted now, but it hasn’t always been so easy. It used to take far more effort. White out, clip art, and double stick tape are rarely used anymore, but they used to be the basic tools for the graphic designers, editors, and writers of the last generation.
Now if we misspell a word it is automatically fixed or other words are suggested for us by the computer, tablet, or smartphone on which we are writing.
If we want to insert a picture or graphic, we have endless choices to choose from on the internet, rather than picking one from a limited book or file of clip art. And we can just pop it into place with the mouse, resize it, change the colors, and add shadow or effects in seconds.
Delete, Copy, and Paste are now the basic tools of the trade. In many ways everything is new. But in some ways it’s all the same. It may be a web page instead of paper, but we’re still trying to connect with our words.
That’s true for life too. The New Year brings many opportunities for change, improvement, and innovation. It’s that time when we can do a reset on those areas of life that haven’t gone well last year. For many of us that means new goals for healthy eating, new plans for getting exercise and new commitments to live life the way we’ve always wanted to live.
January is the time for second chances in so many ways. That sense of newness is exciting! Delete the old, paste in the new! Out with the failures and disappointments of 2014 – in with the fresh starts and renewed dreams of 2015!
Meanwhile the foundations of life remain the same. Ice cream still has a ton of calories. Treadmills and weight machines are still places of sweat, pain, and work. Relationships are difficult and prone to trouble. And yet the positives are still there too.
Love is delightful. Sports are fun. Growth is invigorating. God is faithful and true. Family and friends continue to be life’s most rewarding gifts.
So let’s make some changes in 2015. Let’s let go of some of our excess baggage. Let’s add some new zest in our routines. And let’s also treasure more deeply the good things that are blessings of God in our lives.
I want to express my love to my family and friends more creatively this year. I want to pray more intensely this year. I want to simplify my physical belongings this year. And I want to more fully enjoy God’s presence in the little things each day this year.
What are your goals for 2015? The time is here for changes… the most important ones will come from within, and they will be most effective if they are done in His Spirit.
Delete the Bad! Copy and Paste the Good!
– Chaplain Brian